2011 Eureka! Mentor: Rivkah Sass
My name is Rivkah Sass and I was appointed Director of the Sacramento Public Library in August 2009 after spending six years in Omaha as Executive Director of Omaha Public Library. A native Californian, I have a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Sonoma State College (now University) and a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Washington. A peripatetic librarian, I have worked in public and states libraries in Washington, Oregon, Maryland, and Nebraska. In addition to my library experience I spent three years working for the Thomson Corporation, with a different job title for each year of service.
Named Librarian of the Year by the Library Journal in 2006, and have milked the honor for all it's worth. I currently serve on the Executive Board of the Urban Libraries Council and have been active in ALA committees, from the Caldecott Committee the CLENE Board to various roles in PLA .
I am thrilled to be a Eureka! Mentor because I believe that the critical path to the 21st century library lies in identifying, mentoring and empowering library leaders to step into new frontiers of service while maintaining their commitment to educate. Having fun while we do it is absolutely essential.
I love to give presentations and sometimes enjoy writing about libraries. A sampling of presentations and publications include:
| 2010 | Craigslist Foundation Boot-Camp, panel presenter on the role of public libraries in fostering innovative communities | |
| 2010 | U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce's subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. Testimony, advocating for broadband access and for the creation of a national digital literacy corps. | |
| 2010 | "Bleak or Brilliant, the future of libraries;" Nebraska League of Municipalities | |
| 2009 | Chapter contributor, Risk and Entrepreneurship, American Library Association | |
| 2008 | Librarian-in-Residence, New Zealand; visited more than 30 libraries and delivered presentations to more than 1,000 staff and community stakeholders. (This is the coolest thing I've ever done as a librarian!) | |
| 2007 | Keynote Speaker: Australia, Oregon, Utah, South Carolina Library Associations | |
| 2005 | "Making Data Come Alive," American Library Association Conference | |
| 2004 | "Put your $$ Where Your Mouth Is: Leadership and Planning for Financial Hard Times," American Library Association Annual Conference | |
| 2002 | Article: "Marketing the Worth of Your Library;" Library Journal | |
| 2001 | "Checked Out of the Process? The Librarian's Role in the Electronic Book Media;" American Library Association Conference | |
| 2001 | "Emotional Intelligence and Leadership: Maintaining High-Performance Teams in 21st Century Libraries;" American Library Association Conference |
email: rsass@saclibrary.org
phone: 916-264-2830
fax: 916-264-2755